Ghost Cops
by SightlessDreamer
Summary: For the Shibuya Police Department, some cases can get pretty weird. Especially for Detective Mai Taniyama, to whom odd occurrences happen left and right. How will this young, aspiring detective work through all this? With a good partner of course. **This is a reboot of my original story as Clairsentient!** Rating may change later for some of the more grisly details.
1. Rainy Day

Rain poured down over the Shibuya District.

It was the kind of rain that fell on a persons skin like a thousand tiny pin pricks and soaked them through their clothing. Anyone caught outside during such a downpour would be sure to seek shelter immediately unless they had a sturdy umbrella.

The traffic was bad that day, cars jammed almost bumper to bumper on some streets. Colder weather was coming, heralded by the frost of the previous night. With all this rain, road conditions would worsen steadily and soon there would be car accidents.

_What a day to forget my umbrella AND my coat... Could this get any worse? _A slim woman with brown hair peeled her wet locks from her neck as she rushed down the side walk. It was at times like this when she wished she'd kept her hair shorter, instead of growing it out to her shoulders. She was dressed casually in slacks and a white long sleeved shirt, which was soaked through to show the contrast between her skin and her white undershirt.

It hadn't been raining when she'd left, but rather had started halfway to her destination. Water ran down her face and into her eyes, making her have reach up and wipe them every so often. _Good thing I don't wear makeup, _she thought as she dodged puddles. She had good sturdy boots, but she wasn't sure about them being all that water proof and she didn't really want to risk it.

Ten minutes later, she was walking up the stairs outside of the Shibuya Police Department. It was an imposing building, made of granite with square windows that were tinted dark. Many people were intimidated by the sight of it, but she welcomed it. She had worked here for four years, starting out as a regular officer, but quickly earning her place as a detective.

Upon opening the large glass door and walking inside, a voice rang out, saying a phrase she knew all too well.

"You're late." She shot a glare at the bespectacled officer sitting at the front desk, ringing the water out of her hair as she did so. "You know Yasuhara," she said venomously as she walked towards him, her mood not at all sweetened by the warmth of indoors, "One of these days, you're going to go home to find something very wet, and very unpleasant in your bed." She stopped and glowered at him, noting his grin.

"Oh, well surely I don't turn you on_ that _much, Mai-chan." She squeaked out a small noise filled with fury and raised a fist to hit him. He shrank back slightly, but he was used to this. She didn't actually hit him... Usually.

"About time you got here. I've been waiting." She immediately spun around to find her boss behind her, leaning against the wall. Shibuya Kazuya was the youngest Chief of Police that this station had ever seen, having graduated from the police academy at the age of 18. He was insanely smart, and he knew it, too.

To add to his being a smart ass to anyone he wanted, he was also extremely narcissistic, and for good reason. He was possibly the most gorgeous male specimen in the Shibuya District, only 28 years old, and he was _single_. Of course, any chance that she were attracted to him were ruined by the fact that romance in the workplace was strongly frowned upon and that she was also his favorite verbal punching bag. In retaliation, her nickname for him was Naru the Narcissist, something she would definitely pay for if he found out about it.

When she she only grinned sheepishly in response, he let out an impatient noise and made a shooing motion towards his office. Her face paled as she walked towards the dreaded place. Bad things happened to people who went in there. Shibuya-san was strict with everyone who worked with him, making him exceptionally good at his job.

Once inside, he closed the door behind them and motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs. The room was dark, with no lights on and the blinds closed, so she wondered how he could see well enough to not bump into anything as he went to sit behind his desk. When he was seated comfortably, she finally spoke.

"I did a review on performances on cases this last week." He meet her gaze and a sweat broke out on her forehead. Did she not do her job well enough? "Out of everyone's reports, yours stood out to me." He resettled himself in his chair, almost as if he himself were uncomfortable. Of he wouldn't show it, just like he never showed any other emotion.

"You're one of my best officers, Taniyama. Your reports are detailed, you have an unmatched rate of cases solved, and you're independent." She stared at him with wide eyes. He was complimenting her? For how well her work was? And here she thought he was firing or demoting her!

"There's a case I'd like for you to lead. It's way out of the city, in the small town, but their own police force not only doesn't have enough people, but it's out of their league. I'll be assigning you a partner from off the force, an old friend of mine." She blinked in surprise, but whether it was because he was _asking_ her to take the case, or because he had a friend he classified as old.

"So? Will you take it?" He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk and weaving his fingers together. She swallowed and nodded. "Yes, sir." She was proud of the lack of a waver in her voice. Keeping eye contact with man was terrifying.

He leaned back to his original position, satisfied. "Good. I'll have the file delivered to your desk and your partner will be here tomorrow." She nodded and stood, recognizing a dismissal when she saw one.

Back out in the hall, Yasuhara motioned her over from the desk. "So what did the Beast want?" he asked when she was close enough. "I've got a case." she said, slightly dazed. "He took you into his office just to tell you about a case? Yeah right! What really happened?" She simply shrugged and turned on her heel, walking towards the back of the building were her desk was waiting.

By the time she was seated in front of her ancient desktop computer, she was back to thinking normally. She had also remembered that she was soaked, cringing at the thought of dripping water all over the chief's chair. Shivering, she booted up the dinosaur on her desk and peeled some half-wet hair away from her forehead.

Suddenly, a thick folder was slapped onto her desk. "This is one hell of a case you've got, Mai-chan" Yasu looked down at her, his hand lingering on the file. She reached out and batted her hand away playfully so that she could lift the cover. Grisly crime scene photos greeted her under the flap and she dropped it back into place. "It's a murder case... Looks serial." she murmured.

"A serial killer? Are you sure you're up for this one Mai-chan?" He sat of the edge of her desk, looking down at her. Yasu had been her friend since she started working here as a street cop. Now she often thought of him as an annoying older brother.

"Don't worry about it, Naru-chan's assigned me a partner from off the force. An 'old friend'. Exact phrasing, too." Yasu raised an eyebrow at that. "An old friend? As in a friend he's know for a long time? The chief had friends back then?" She snickered at his response. "Of course he did, he's human too, however much he doesn't act like it."

Yasu laughed and slid off her desk. "Whatever you say, Mai-chan." he called as he walked back down the hall. She waved once and reached back for the file. Drawing towards her, she opened the cover and pushed the photos aside.

The case was indeed a number of serial murders, all in the same place and killed in the same way. The problem was that they didn't have a suspect.

The murders had been going on for two months now, with a death every week. They had a specific day, a specific hour that the body showed up even, but they hadn't been able to catch anyone either in the act, or coming and going from the crime scene. There was no motive that they could find, and the victims had nothing in common with each other.

A testament from one of the town residents had mentioned some kind of of demonic ritual, but that theory had been written off as superstition and old legends. She set that to the side, having learned that the simplest things could be keys to solving the case.

There were statements from everyone in town, all of which had a ring of truth to them. She had learned a couple years ago that when her gut told her something was right or wrong, that's just how it was. She'd never been wrong about these kinds of things. So according o her intuition, the culprit wasn't someone who lived there.

She set the information aside and pulled out a pad of scratch paper and a pen. Arranging the various papers out on her desk so that she could see all of them at once took a couple minutes, and several of the papers sailed to the floor more than once, but eventually she got everything sorted. Then, she settled down and took notes.

She had come up with this process last year, picking apart the case file piece by piece and writing down the order that she would do things when she got on the scene. She wrote down contact information, sorting by next of kin to the deceased and ending with the people who had only made a statement, but had no connection to the murders.

She worked like this for hours, going through every piece of information, only stopping for a lunch break, until it was time to go leave. She cleaned up her desk and peered out the window into the darkness. It was now roughly seven in the evening, meaning she'd been working on the file for over six hours. She rubbed her tired eyes and set out for home.

Outside, Yasuhara was waiting for her. When she approached his car, he rolled down the window."Time for us day cops to head for now. Thought I'd give you a ride home. Besides, the rain hasn't stopped." He grinned and reached over to open the passenger side door. She smiled back. "Thanks Yasu. I really appreciate it." She quickly walked to the other side and got in.

* * *

**So, here's a little back story on this. My user name used to be Clairsentient, but I lost my password three years ago. I just recently found it again, and found SIX pm's asking me to continue this particular story. So here I am, on my new account. **

**For this story, I'll be taking prompt requests for cases, and the pairing will be LinxMai, although it'll be a subtle romance. Also, I'll be introducing the characters in cases, one at a time most likely. I already have ideas to introduce Masako and Bou-san, but any ideas for the others would be greatly appreciated!  
**

**I'll be working on this story and my other one, Life of a Hero, alternately.  
**

**Please review and let me know what you like, what you don't like, and also leave requests for cases, either in a review or a pm!  
**

**Thanks so much,  
**

**SD  
**


	2. Meet the Author

_Beep.. Beep.. Beep.. Beep.._

Mai opened one eye and groaned. Her alarm clock was blinking 7:00 AM in large, bright red numbers. She reached over to press the large button that would turn off the alarm function and sat up. She slid her legs to the side and planted her feet on the floor steadily, before slumping over and holding her head in her hands.

She rubbed her eyes blearily and looked down at herself. She'd taken to wearing sweatpants and a loose, light-weave shirt to bed because of the colder weather. Now, both item of clothing were rumpled and twisted, probably from her tossing and her turning. She loved her job, but the things she saw often gave her nightmares.

She let out another groan and stood up shakily, her sleep-weighted limbs not sure that they wanted to hold her upright yet. Shuffling towards the bathroom, she occasionally let out a small cry of pain as she stubbed her toes on either the door jamb, or a desk.

The mirror was unkind this particular morning, letting her see just how much sleep she must have gotten that night, a number that must have rhymed with _shoe_, or _door_. Not very much by her standards, though she doubted that her boss slept at all. She'd never even seen him leave the building.

Her hair stood up at odd angles and there were dark shadows under her eyes. She turned on the cold tap and let it run while she grabbed a brush from the counter and dragged it through it hair until it was silky and smooth again. Then she set the brush aside and cupped her hands in the water from the sink. Leaning over, she brought her hands up and doused her face with the icy cold. She was immediately awake after this and she shook her head several times to clear it.

She glanced up at the mirror again, taking in her appearance, before turning the tap off and heading back to her room to get dressed. When she'd finally decided that some warmer, more water-proof clothing would be beneficial, she settled for digging through her closet.

When she finally walked out into her living room, she was wearing a fleece sweater and and some jeans. She carried a bag full of basic necessities, since the case would be out of town and she and her new partner would be staying in an inn, or a hotel of some sort.

She set the bag by the entryway of her small kitchen and began to prepare some food, along with her usual pot of tea. She hadn't had time to make any the day before, but she had been making tea in the morning for as long as she could remember. It had been her mother who had taught her how, because her father loved the sweet, slightly spicy flavor of the hand-picked tea leaves.

After setting the water to boil on the stove burner, she took some of the leftover rice from the night before and mixed in some milk and sweetener. When the water for the tea was fully heated, she put the rice in a pot and put it on the already hot burner that the kettle had recently vacated.

Leaving that to heat, she poured the hot water into a teapot and poured in her favorite mixture of tea. Almost instantly, the heavenly scent of cinnamon and vanilla filled the air. She grinned and turned back to the stove, taking the pot off the burner and turning the stove off. after getting a spoon, she scooped the rice into a bowl and stirred it until it was creamy and smooth.

By then, the tea was ready, so she added a bit of sugar and and poured a cup for herself. The rest, she poured into a thermos for her boss. It was a habit she had developed during the past year or so, in an effort to soften his temper towards her. She cleaned up some tea leaves that had spilled by accident and sat down to eat.

Fifteen minutes later, she was walking out the door in order too make it to work early, or at least a time that was early for her. She figured that the only reason that Naru put up with her was because of this tea. It was still raining outside, but it was a lighter kind of downpour than before. She was walking down the stairs when a black car pulled up. Mai was astonished to see Naru behind the wheel as the window rolled down.

"Get in." She looked her way as she hesitated.

"W-why are you here?" she stammered. He gave her a withering glare before answering.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't going to be late." He turned his attention back to the parking lot in front of him. Gulping, she opened the car door and slid inside. As soon as the door clicked shut, Naru stepped on the gas and they shot off like a rocket. Mai clung to her seat fearfully, staring at him as he drove. He was obviously upset about something.

As soon as they pulled up into the Department parking lot, the reason why was clear. There was a swarm of television reporters hovering near the front door and snatching up any unsuspecting officers in a uniform. The Chief was notorious for hating the press in any shape or form, for reasons that they could only guess at.

They opened the car doors and immediately he opened an umbrella to shield his face behind, and without looking back, he made a beeline for the entrance as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. She was left behind to deal with the reporters, who all shouted questions that she couldn't understand when she got close to the door.

The noise stopped as soon as she entered the building, which she was very grateful for. Yasu was at the front desk, gossiping with a couple of street cops, but he caught her eye as she walked up.

"Must be one hell of a case, Mai." He winked at her, causing her to tense up.

"Why do you say that?" She eyed him warily, almost certain that there was some ulterior motive behind his comment.

"Well, it must be important for you to be working with..." He pulled out a hardcover book and pen, then continued. "Koujo Lin, the famous mystery novelist! So, uh, you wouldn't mind getting this autographed for me... Right?"

She stared at him, slightly dumbfounded. Then she blinked and seemed to come back to herself, shaking her head several times. Truth be told, she had several novels at her home that had been written by Lin-san.

"What!? You're kidding! That's who I'm working with?" Her words all came in a rush, like water breaking free of a dam.

"You betcha!" He smiled brightly. "So, what do ya say?" He waved the book in front of her face, which she swatted away with an annoyed expression on her face.

"No way, get it yourself." She said the words over her shoulder as she made her way to the Chief's office. She shifted her bag nervously as she took in the darkened blinds beyond the windows of the room. A light knock on the door, and a voice from within granted her access. She pushed it open warily and peeked inside.

On the far side of the room, there was a single lamp left on to illuminate the space. Naru sat at his desk, his chin rested on one hand, while a tall sat stood near a window. The blinds had been raised to reveal the rain-washed streets of Shibuya.

Upon her opening the door, the tall man looked away from the window and stood there observing her. She set her bag down next to the door and removed the thermos of tea, which she set on the desk after moving further into the room.

"I forgot to give this to you earlier." He nodded and pulled out a set of tea cups. Setting aside three of them, he opened the thermos. Steam from the still hot tea spilled out as he poured the tea into the cups. When he was finished, he motioned for her and the tall man, who she assumed to be Lin-san, to each take one.

The silence was beginning to bother Mai, who took her cup and retreated to one of the ridiculously comfortable chairs. It seemed that neither man was willing to start a conversation, both seeming to be more comfortable with the quiet.

After what seemed like hours, Naru finally spoke up.

"I assume that you've both read up on the case file that I sent to each of you. for almost a month, there have been a series of murders occurring in a small town called Sekigane. Since that law enforcement is slightly lacking, and they are stretched thin, they have sent out word that any extra officers should make their way over, where they will be offered food lodgings in a local inn."

He paused, letting them take in this information.

"I'm sending you as the representatives of the Shibuya Police Department." He turned to Mai, and looked her in the eye.

"This is a serious matter, Taniyama, a serial killer, so treat it as such. Lin is a friend of mine, and more capable in this situation than most of the force. You can count on him to back you up." When she nodded, he settled back into his chair and pulled some train tickets out of his pocket.

"This will be your means of transportation. I worked out a deal with the company who runs the railway out to Sekigane. These tickets are round-trip, and good for return on any day until March 12th. On the 13th, they're having some sort of train expo." He handed each of them a ticket, then stood and walked to his desk, where he picked up a thick manilla folder.

"I made an extra copy of the case file for Taniyama, seeing as how she usually forgets to bring hers." Mai flushed red, stood up, and snatched the file, all the while glaring at Naru.

Lin-san stood up also, his frame seemingly too tall for the room. For the first time since she'd unofficially met the man, he spoke.

"Thank you for allowing me to step in on this case." He sounded much too formal to Mai, since she figured that if you were friends with someone, shouldn't it be a bit looser?

Lin-san made for the door, and assuming she was supposed to follow him, and that they were dismissed, she wasn't far behind with her bag. When the door shut behind them, she let out a deep breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding, glad to be out of the intense atmosphere in the Chief's office.

They walked down the hallway in silence and she sighed inwardly. Of course some that Naru knew wouldn't be a big talker. She just knew that this would be a long trip, full of extended silences and awkwardness. Or at least until she found a way to break the ice between them.

Yasu was still at the front desk, though a couple of the officers he had been gossiping with had gone back to work. He openly gawked at Lin-san as they walked past, then seemed to shake himself out of it as he pulled out his book.

"Um... Excuse me Lin-sama..." he said, adding an unnecessary honorific. He held out the book and pen.

"M-may I have your autograph?" Lin-san raised an eyebrow, but took both items and signed the inside cover. He handed the book back to Yasu, who immediately opened it to read what he had written.

"'You would think that people who see this kind of stuff everyday wouldn't want to read it at home, Koujo Lin'... You really do have a sense of humor underneath that stoic exterior, don't you?" It was said as more of a wry statement than an actual question, but Lin-san gave the smallest of nods and walked out the door with a ghost of a smile on his face.

* * *

**Whew! That took a long time to get done, but on the bright side, I've got a new computer! So hopefully I'll be able to update more often. Thanks to those who checked in with me about this chapter, it really warms my heart to know that you guys like it enough to make sure that I'm updating XD**

**Also, please don't be afraid to come in with case prompts! I have a steady supply in a notebook, but other suggestions are really and truly welcomed!  
**

**Thanks for reading,  
**

**SD  
**


	3. Case 1: Unveiled Secrets

Mai watched the scenery flash by outside the window as the train thundered along the tracks. The ride itself was under an hour, but it seemed to be taking forever. Lin-san was seated across the isle from her, his long fingers tapping away at the key of the laptop that had emerged from his bag. The long fringe of his hair had fallen into his eyes, though he hardly seemed to notice.

She allowed herself a brief, sidelong glance at him, then turned back to the window. She had packed a book in her bag, but she didn't want to take it out to read it, no matter how bored she was. _Murderer at Midnight_ was a best selling murder novel, written by none other than Koujo Lin himself, and she wasn't about to embarrass herself by being caught reading it around him.

Boarding the train had been simple enough. Yasu had seen them off at the Police Department, and Naru wasn't likely to show up after his long talk about the case. At this point, he was probably just satisfied that he was sending people over to help.

There had been a slight delay when they first set off from the train station, but it had been a short one. There had been talk about a drunk man wandering on the tracks, but nobody could confirm anything.

As time dragged on, Mai started to doze, her forehead pressed against the glass of the window. It wasn't long before she was completely asleep and already in the grips of a dream.

As was the usual case with her dreams, she wasn't where she had been when she fell asleep. She normally had all sorts of odd dreams before some cases, and she liked to think that they actually meant something, but nothing could be proven.

She was standing in a plain, dimly lit room, the only light coming from candles that sent flickering shadows dancing across the walls. In the center of the room, there was an odd square table that had four legs set parallel on two sides. She was moving forward to see what was on the table, when she was jolted out of her dream by a hand on her shoulder.

"They just gave the five minute warning for the Sekigane Station." Lin-san released her shoulder and settled back into his seat. She nodded at him and grabbed her bag, not only so that she could have it ready, but so that she could have something to do with her hands. She wouldn't admit it, but he had nearly scared the pants off of her!

After what felt like a very long couple of minutes, Mai could feel the train losing speed and momentum. They rounded a corner and the town came into view. From what she could see, all the building looked very old, built in the traditional style with wooden beams for support. Everything else disappeared from her line of sight when they pulled up to the station building.

When she set foot outside the train, she immediately felt uneasy. It seemed like there were many pairs of eyes watching her, even though there weren't many people around. No matter how charming this little town had seemed from the train, it had a creepy feeling to it.

The town was laid out in a grid pattern, with the old houses separated by narrow, cracked streets. On the outskirts of town, pavement turned into dusty dirt roads, which wound out to fields and some lone houses that were isolated by hedges and trees.

Despite looking rather run down, there was no lack of life here. People milled about, going on with their lives, though a sense of sadness hung about in the air like smoke. In a town this small, Mai was sure that whenever the killer struck, everyone was affected by it.

The inn they were to stay at was at the end of the main street, towards the edge of town. The people who lived here didn't own or drive cars, since the town was probably little more than five or six square blocks, so the only cars were from visitors.

As they got closer, Mai got a better look at where they wold stay. The main building of the inn looked old, built in the traditional style of a ryokan. The dark-stained wooden beams that formed the skeleton of the structure made a severe contrast to the white-washed walls. On the ladder outside the front of the building, a man was washing windows.

The man spotted them as he turned to wet his cloth in the bucket balanced beside him. He was wearing a thick, loose shirt made of brown material, with matching trousers. They were made in the traditional style for working out of doors when the employees at the inn didn't want to get the uniform yukatas, which they wore for inside duties, dirty. The man was rather plain, with black hair, and straight nose, and dark eyes. If she had to pick him out of a crowd, Mai would have been in trouble, for this man would be able to blend in anywhere.

He gave them a big grin and started to make his way down the ladder in order to greet them. Once on the ground, he turned and bowed formally.

"Welcome to the Sanpaku Byu Ryokan! My name is Reiji Hakayama, I am the owner of this place." Mai and Lin returned the bow at the same time, which made her grin to herself.

"My name is Mai Taniyama, and this is my partner, Koujo Lin-san. We have been sent from the Shibuya Police Department." They all returned to their upright positions and the man smiled again.

"Someone already called ahead to let us know you were coming, so your rooms are already taken care of." Mai sighed inwardly in relief. If they had known they were coming, that would explain why she had felt as though she were being watched when they arrived. The man continued to speak.

"You're free to drop your belongings off and head out to the police station." They both nodded and Reiji motioned them inside. He showed them to their rooms, gave them their keys, and pointed them in the right direction towards the station.

The building that housed the police force was located towards the center of town. The paint on the walls, which might have once been white, was peeling and gray from being exposed to the weather. The door looked fairly new, but the wood around the hinges was slightly splintered, as if the old door had been forcefully opened.

The hinges creaked as they pushed the door open. Inside, there was a tired looking man sitting at a desk. He looked up when he heard the door squeak and politely gave them a halfhearted smile. He had thinning brown hair that was cut short, and a tan, weathered face that was probably the result of spending much of his time outside.

As he stood up, Mai noticed that the only thing marking him as a law enforcer was the shiny badge pinned on his khaki colored shirt.

"Hello. You must be the pair that Chief Shibuya was so sure could help us. I sure hope he was right... My name is Ryou Hinaki." He bowed and both Lin and Mai returned the gesture. When they had all straightened up and introduced themselves, he motioned for them to take a seat. There were a couple of rolling chairs and a wooden bench competing for space among the clutter of desks, file cabinets, and books in the room. Mai chose to sit on the bench, leaving Lin to sit where he wanted.

"I'll assume you've familiarized yourselves with the case file I've sent, so I'll tell you this now. Never before has a case bothered me so much. We have no suspects inside the town, and we've been combing the surrounding woods for weeks now in an effort to find the bastard that's doing this." Hinaki-san's face drained of color as he spoke, his shoulders drooping as if he were already defeated.

Mai's heart reached out to the man. He had probably lived here his whole, made life long friends with his neighbors, and here someone was going around and killing them, while he toiled fruitlessly in order to stop them.

"If there's anything you can do, and anything I can do to help you, then please, by all means, let me know." With that being said, Hinaki-san lowered himself back into the seat he had vacated when they arrived.

Mai stood and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for putting a voice to your feelings, Hinaki-san." she said, her eyes showing the sadness she couldn't allow to seep into her voice. As the leading detective of the case, she had to keep her cool for as long as she could. However, it was impossible to keep all of her feelings at bay, and her voice softened as she continued to speak.

"I think that you have done wonderfully for keeping at this for so long. You should get some rest while we get our bearings and start our investigation." He looked up gratefully when she was finished.

"Thank you Taniyama-san. I'll leave this in your capable hands then." Hinaki stood and bowed, then staggered out the door.

She looked towards Lin, but he was angled away from her, the hint of thoughtful expression visible on his stoic face. She sighed soundlessly and stood up, turning to face him as she did so.

"I'm going to familiarize myself with the layout of the town. If you to come with me, I could use some help..." Some of the confidence seeped out of her voice as he stood, locking his gaze with hers before nodding. She motioned him outside, all the while cursing Naru for pairing her with someone so intimidating.

Mai blinked as she stepped out of the dark room. Despite the general gloom of the day, the office had to have been much darker than she had originally thought. She set off down the side of the road, since there wasn't much in the way of a sidewalk, picking up her pace when she heard Lin's tell-tale steps behind her. The thought of him there made her nervous, so she forced herself to pay attention to anything, _anything_, but the man that walked with her.

Most of the houses were dark, which wasn't surprising since it was only a little after noon, but out of the corner of her eye she often caught slight movements behind curtains, as if the townsfolk were watching her. There were no people at all on the street and Mai's heart ached to think that they might have been too frightened to leave their homes.

The sound of running footsteps made her pause and look back, almost causing Lin to run into her from behind. She leaped away and apologized profusely as a man that she didn't recognize, though he wore an officers clothing, approached them. He was breathing heavily, his entire portly frame heaving with the effort it had taken to catch up with us.

"Th-this *wheeze* is for you." He held out a folded map to Lin, who took from him with a nod. "The crime scenes, including the dump site, have all been marked in order, along *gasp* with the locations you would be most likely to find information". He had caught his breath by this time and straightened up. Even at his full height, he was no match for Lin's probable 6 feet or over.

"My name is Takumi Owaru, deputy over at the police station. Please excuse me for running at you like that, but I might not have caught up with you otherwise." At this, he gave a wheezy laugh and coughed as he inhaled some dust from the road. He turned an embarrassed face towards us and shuffled his feet.

"Well, I ought to get back now. Lots of paperwork to do, you know. So long." He waved once and rushed back in the direction her had come from. Mai glanced over at Lin, who was watching the man retreat. He had been silent during the whole exchange, observing Owaru-san's actions. Now he turned an emotionless face to her and gestured towards the route they had been intending to take before the interruption.

As they resumed walking, Mai heard him unfold the map. She glanced back to see him study it intently, not even watching where he was going. She shrugged to herself and continued watching until a hand caught her elbow and steered her towards a smaller side road. She looked back over at Lin, who was in fact attached to the guiding hand.

"The crime scene is this way." he said simply, handing her the map. She straightened it out and located their street. Sure enough, two blocks down, was the object of their search. She looked up as they approached it (by this time, Lin had also removed his hand), to see it roped off with caution tape and _actual rope_, which amused her greatly.

The building itself looked run-down and disused, as if it hadn't been lived in for a very long time, even though someone had in fact been here until just a few weeks ago. The paint, what was left of the original coat, was peeling badly and some places showed signs of amateur attempts at patching holes. If she wanted any more information that that, Mai was going to have to track down the last person to live here in the local archives, if there were any. And if they had passed away, maybe they still had family in town. She put that thought aside and turned back to situation at hand.

They ducked under the tape and entered through the front door. The inside looked a little better than the outside did, and there were still pieces of furniture left in the hallway, such as a small, wooden stand that a vase of flowers might once have sat upon, and through a doorway to her left, there was an old table and a few chairs, so that must have been the dining room. Some things appeared to be missing, but they could have been taken as evidence or possibly stolen. In a small, tight-knit town like this it was unlikely, but not impossible. It was also possible that the person who lived here was one of simple tastes who had no need for as much furniture as others.

She inhaled through her nose, taking in the general musty smell of the place. It was similar to the scent of an old book that no one has opened for a very long, but there was a hint of something metallic mixed in with it. She tried to find where that faint smell was coming from, because she knew that that's where they would find their murder scene.

She headed up the stairs to her right, just beyond what she figured was the living room, and stepped into a long hallway that ran down the length of the house. There were several doors leading from this hallway, which she assumed to be for bedrooms and a bathroom, maybe a closet or two. Only one of these doors was open, and it was from there that the smell was coming from. There was also caution tape above the door, another indicator that she was headin towards the right place.

Mai walked over to the door and was greeted by the sight of more stairs and a slight breeze that carried a stronger, stale smell that made her want to gag. She headed up the stairs anyway, forcing down the nausea that threatened to rise up. The murder had occurred in what appeared to be the attic, judging from the size of the open space and the way that the ceiling slanted. Dried blood caked the floor and still showed the patterns in which the body had been dragged.

The odd thing about those drag marks were that they headed and disappeared out of the window. Outside the window however, the ground was three stories down and not a drop of blood had been spilled anywhere that she could see on the side of the house, which might be one of the most puzzling parts of the puzzle. How had they gotten the body out of the house this way?

A footstep from the hallway outside the bedroom made Mai jump and spin around. She stared at Lin, having almost completely forgotten he was also in the house. Perhaps she just wasn't used to working with a partner yet.

He didn't say anything, but settled for studying the patterns in the caked, dried up mess on the floor. He walked forward, following its trail, but being careful not to step anywhere that might compromise the scene. Mai watched him move with his catlike grace and swift motions. She was struck by the impression that he seemed to be quite used to doing this, despite the fact he was supposed to just be a bestselling author. Perhaps he conducted the research for his books in person?

That thought her shudder as she remembered the parts of his books where he'd written from the killer's perspective. She certainly hoped he had not conducted _that_ research personally.

He nodded towards the door to indicate he was done and they headed downstairs.

* * *

**Wow! It's been a while since I updated, huh? Sorry about that. School and _other_ things really get in the way sometimes. But I have some free time now and I'll be updating both of my stories, hopefully in an alternating pattern.**

**Anyway, if you like this fanfic, but haven't seen my other one, go check it out! Oh, and write me reviews! They are the ambrosia that keeps my writing spirit alive!**

**You guys are awesome, and I love all my readers,**

**~SD**


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